Gaming machines, such as slot machines, video poker machines and the like, have been a cornerstone of the gaming industry for several years. Generally, the popularity of such machines with players is dependent on the likelihood (or perceived likelihood) of winning money at the machine and the intrinsic entertainment value of the machine relative to other available gaming options. Players also appreciate the reliability of a gaming machine, as do the casino operators. Shrewd operators consequently strive to employ the most entertaining, exciting, and reliable machines available because such machines attract frequent play and hence increase profitability to the operator.
Gaming machines display a variety of visual attraction devices, models, signs, and other forms of information. Methods used to display these items include fixed permanently printed glass, video displays, fixed artwork, and model displays.
Historically, gaming machines presented a single game and top box display. To alter game offerings, casino operators needed to replace the entire gaming machine (or the entire top box display). If the operator wanted to relocate a machine to a different position on the casino floor, the entire machine would have to be moved. Replacement and relocation processes are slow and counter-productive to maintaining pace with the continuously changing gambling industry. To better serve their customers, casino operators need a method of converting and/or moving games quickly.
Another aspect of the difficulty in modifying or changing games relates directly to the service personnel responsible for the conversion. In many cases, a conversion of a gaming machine would require the replacement of the top box display and marquee. This typically requires the services of at least two service technicians to manage the weight of the top box. The difficulty of shipping and storing a large and heavy top box display in itself is cost-prohibitive. Requiring two technicians to remove one top box display and replace it with another is also costly.
Gaming Machine manufacturers, especially those that produce video-based gaming machines, have responded quickly to this need. One such response is the development of a plain gaming terminal that allows multiple games to be presented on the same machine. This method addresses the issue of offering more games and placing them at optimal locations during peak playing times, and also addresses the issue of converting games to the latest offerings by the gaming machine manufacturer (by performing a software conversion).
What is not addressed is the ability to transition the top box display easily when a conversion to a new game occurs. For example, if a casino operator decides that a certain video reel slot game, using a particular molded model display, has reached the end of its playing life on the casino floor, the operator contacts the manufacturer and requests a conversion of the gaming machine to a newer, perhaps more popular game. While the conversion of the main video-based reel slot game is a simple software and surface artwork change, the top box display area typically requires a complete replacement. This can be time-consuming, expensive, and cumbersome.
This issue is also indicative of top box failures and the method of repair. Should a failure occur in a top box display, the typical response is to send an entire, functional top box to the casino, remove the failed top box, and return the failed top box to the service office to diagnose the problem. Again, this method requires the services of two or more technicians.
To make top box conversions and repairs faster, easier, and more cost effective, the use of a common substructure in accordance with the present invention would reduce the variations of the assembly mechanisms in top box display offerings, simplify the conversion or repair process, and modularize the sub-components to allow pre-tested subassemblies to be installed by a single service technician.